Filter testing apparatus and method

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for filter testing for use within an air handling system. The air handling system may include one or more scan assemblies. The scan assembly may include a track system using one or more magnetic arrays.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for an airhandling system and testing of a filter thereof.

Typical scan testing and validation include potential contaminationcrossing into the air passageway of the air handling unit. For example,an access door may be opened to gain access to a filter or one or moreseals or gaskets may be used to insert scan probes or other equipmentthrough the housing wall from the exterior to the interior. Thus, thereis a need to reduce contamination in an air handling system.

SUMMARY

In some embodiments, an apparatus for introducing features to ormonitoring characteristics of an air filter within an air handlingsystem comprises a housing having an exterior side and an interior side,wherein the interior side may define an air passageway adapted to form apart of the air handling system having an air flow passing therethrough.In some embodiments, the air handling system may include one or morefilter areas positioned within the interior side of the housing adaptedto receive a replaceable filter media. Moreover, in some embodiments,the filter media may include a downstream face and an opposing upstreamface. In various embodiments, the air handling system may include afirst scan assembly positioned at least one of upstream and downstreamof the one or more filter areas, wherein the first scan assembly mayhave a track system directing one or more depending arms within the airpassageway in a transverse direction to the air flow. In someembodiments, the track system may include an exterior portion positionedon the exterior side of the housing and an interior portion positionedon the interior side of the housing. In some embodiments, the interiorportion may include a carriage, an interior magnetic array, and the oneor more depending arms slidingly engaging one or more first rails. Invarious embodiments, the exterior portion may include a drive member andan exterior magnetic array slidingly engaging one or more second rails,and an actuator, wherein the actuator may slide the drive member and theexterior magnetic array on the one or more second rails along theexterior side of the housing and correspondingly slides the carriage,the interior magnetic array, and one or more depending arms on the oneor more first rails in the transverse direction along the interior sideof the housing.

In addition, in some embodiments, the first scan assembly may bepositioned downstream of the one or more filter areas. In variousembodiments, the air handling system may include a second scan assemblypositioned on the other of the at least one of upstream and downstreamposition of the first scan assembly. In some embodiments, the first scanassembly may have a first rate of travel for the drive member along thetransverse direction and the second scan assembly may have a second rateof travel for the drive member along the transverse direction. Invarious embodiments, the first rate of travel and the second rate oftravel may be the same or different from each other. In addition, invarious embodiments, the one or more first rails may include a pair oflinear rails parallel spaced from each other and in sliding engagementwith the carriage. In some embodiments, the interior portion of thetrack system further comprises one or more linear bearings between thepair of linear rails and the carriage. In various embodiments, theexterior portion of the track system further comprises a lead screwdriven by the actuator, the lead screw may slide the drive member alongthe one or more second rails. In some embodiments, the drive member maythreadably engage the lead screw. In some embodiments, the interiormagnetic array and the exterior magnetic array may be spaced from eachother by the track system to provide a gap therebetween. In addition, insome embodiments, each one of the interior magnetic array and theexterior magnetic array may include a plurality of elongated magnetsarranged perpendicular to the transverse direction relative to the airflow. In some embodiments, the actuator may be a servo motor. In variousembodiments, the one or more depending arms of the interior portion ofthe track system may further comprise one or more devices. In someembodiments, the one or more devices may be at least one of a scanprobe, a camera, a nozzle, a sensor, and an injector. In addition, insome embodiments, the one or more depending arms may comprise a spinedefining a portion of one or more overlapping scan probes extendingalong a length of the spine. In some embodiments, the air handlingsystem may include a fixed probe assembly in fluid communication withone or more injectors to validate test aerosol from the first scanassembly positioned upstream of the one or more filter areas.

In addition, in some embodiments, an apparatus for introducing featuresto or monitoring characteristics of an air filter within an air handlingsystem, comprising a depending arm moveable in linear directiontransverse to an air flow within an air handling system. In someembodiments, the depending arm may include an elongated spine extendingfor a length in a vertical direction. In various embodiments, thedepending arm includes a plurality of scan probes that may be positionedalong the length of the elongated spine. In some embodiments, each oneof the plurality of scan probes may have an inner periphery defining aninternal air passageway, wherein a portion of the inner periphery ofeach scan probe may be defined by a portion of the elongated spine.

In addition, in various embodiments, adjacent scan probes of theplurality of scan probes may overlap for a distance along the length ofthe elongated spine. In some embodiments, the adjacent scan probes maybe positioned on opposing sides of the elongated spine. In someembodiments, each one of the plurality of scan probes may include one ormore channels extending from an upstream inlet towards a downstreamoutlet of the scan probe. In various embodiments, the one or morechannels may decrease in size towards the downstream outlet. In someembodiments, the one or more channels may be positioned in a verticalposition relative to each other. In various embodiments, the one or morechannels may be defined by one or more protrusions extending from theinner periphery of the scan probe. In some embodiments, the one or moreprotrusions may be an elongated fin extending in the direction of theair flow. Moreover, in some embodiments, the elongated fin may extendfrom the upstream inlet to a distance spaced away from the downstreamoutlet. In various embodiments, the elongated fin may be transverse to ahorizontal plane. In some embodiments, a pair of the elongated fins maytaper towards each other in the direction of air flow towards thedownstream outlet. In various embodiments, the elongated spine maydefine a portion of the upstream inlet and may not define the downstreamoutlet. In some embodiments, each one of the plurality of scan probesmay include a three sided member tapering towards a downstream outletcoupled to a substantially planar lateral face of a the elongated spine.

In some implementations, an apparatus for introducing features to ormonitoring characteristics of an air filter within an air handlingsystem may comprise a housing having an exterior side and an interiorside, wherein the interior side may define an air passageway adapted toform a part of the air handling system having an air flow passingtherethrough. In some embodiments, the apparatus may include one or morefilter areas positioned within the interior side of the housing adaptedto receive a replaceable filter media. Moreover, in some embodiments,the filter media may include a downstream face and an opposing upstreamface. In various embodiments, the apparatus may include a first scanassembly positioned upstream of the one or more filter areas. In someembodiments, the first scan assembly may include a track systemdirecting one or more depending arms within the air passageway in atransverse direction to the air flow. In some embodiments, the tracksystem may have an exterior portion positioned on the exterior side ofthe housing and an interior portion positioned on the interior side ofthe housing. In various embodiments, the interior portion may include acarriage, an interior magnetic array, and the one or more depending armsslidingly engaging one or more first rails. In some embodiments, theexterior portion may include a drive member and an exterior magneticarray slidingly engaging one or more second rails, and an actuator,wherein the actuator slides the drive member and the exterior magneticarray on the one or more second rails along the exterior side of thehousing and correspondingly slides the carriage, the interior magneticarray, and one or more depending arms on the one or more first rails inthe transverse direction along the interior side of the housing. Inaddition, in some embodiments, the one or more depending arms of theinterior portion of the track system may further comprise one or moreinjectors directing at least one of a decontamination agent and anaerosol downstream towards the one or more filter areas that receive thereplaceable filter media. In some embodiments, at least one of theinterior portion and the exterior portion may include a cover attachingthe interior magnetic array and the exterior magnetic array to a backingplate, respectively.

These and other advantages and features, which characterize theembodiments, are set forth in the claims annexed hereto and form afurther part hereof. However, for a better understanding of theembodiments, and of the advantages and objectives attained through itsuse, reference should be made to the Drawings and to the accompanyingdescriptive matter, in which there is described example embodiments.This summary is merely provided to introduce a selection of conceptsthat are further described below in the detailed description, and is notintended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subjectmatter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in limiting the scope ofthe claimed subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings, like reference characters generally refer to the sameparts throughout the different views. Also, the drawings are notnecessarily to scale, emphasis instead generally being placed uponillustrating the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a bottom perspective view a portion of the air handling systemwith the access door removed illustrating an embodiment of one or morescan assemblies;

FIG. 2 is a top perspective view the air handling system of FIG. 1 witha portion of an exterior portion exploded away from the scan assembly;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 taken along line3-3

FIG. 4 is a close up sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a first scan assembly and a second scanassembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the first scan assembly of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a portion or three-sided member of anembodiment of a scan probe;

FIG. 8 is an upstream inlet view of the scan probe portion of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a side view of the scan probe portion of FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a downstream outlet view of the scan probe portion of FIG. 7;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the scan probe portion of FIG. 9 takenalong line 11-11;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of an embodiment of an interior magneticarray of a track system interior portion and a perspective view of anembodiment of an exterior magnetic array of the track system exteriorportion;

FIG. 13 is a side view of the interior magnetic array and the exteriormagnetic array of FIG. 12 illustrating relative alignment relative toeach other and arrows indicating magnetic pole orientation of individualmagnets;

FIG. 14 is a sectional view of an embodiment of a depending armpositioning a plurality of scan probes of FIG. 5 taken along line 14-14;

FIG. 15 is a sectional view of the depending arm positioning a pluralityof scan probes of FIG. 5 taken along line 15-15;

FIG. 16 is a sectional view of the first scan assembly installed withthe air handling system of FIG. 1 taken along line 16-16;

FIG. 17 is a schematic of an exemplary testing configuration for thedriving magnetic array and the driven magnetic array;

FIG. 18 is a partial side sectional view of another embodiment of an airhandling system illustrating a validation or measurement configurationof a probe assembly, with the filter removed from the air passageway;

FIG. 19 is a sectional view of FIG. 18 taken along line 19-19;

FIG. 20A is an exploded perspective view of another embodiment of aninterior magnetic array of a track system interior portion and theexterior magnetic array of the track system exterior portionillustrating an embodiment of a cover;

FIG. 20B is an assembled view of FIG. 20A;

FIG. 20C is a sectional view of FIG. 20B taken along line 20C-20C;

FIG. 21A is an exploded perspective view of another embodiment of aninterior magnetic array of a track system interior portion and theexterior magnetic array of the track system exterior portionillustrating another embodiment of a cover;

FIG. 21B is an assembled view of FIG. 21A; and

FIG. 21C is a sectional view of FIG. 21B taken along line 21C-21C.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Numerous variations and modifications will be apparent to one ofordinary skill in the art, as will become apparent from the descriptionbelow. Therefore, the invention is not limited to the specificimplementations discussed herein.

As illustrated in the Figures, one or more scan assemblies 20, 30 may beused within an air handling system 10 to test, monitor, and/or introducematerial to one or more filters 40 within the air flow A of the airpassageway 11. The housing 12 of the air handling system 10 may have anexterior side 12 a and an interior side 12 b. The interior side 12 b maydefine the air passageway 11 having the air flow A passing therethrough.A sealed access door, removed for clarity in the Figures, may provideaccess into the passageway to access the one or more filter areasadapted to receive or defining the replaceable filter media or filter 40(e.g. remove, install, repair, etc.). Moreover, although not shown, oneor more dampers may be used within the housing upstream and/ordownstream of the filters position. The one or more filters 40 may be avariety of constructions, quantities, and materials with a variety ofcharacteristics (e.g. a HEPA filter, ePTFE). The filter includes anupstream face 42 and an opposing downstream face 44.

The scan assembly 20, 30 utilizes magnetic forces to facilitate therelative movement between an interior portion 50 a and an exteriorportion 50 b of a track system 50 through the housing 12 (e.g. one ormore walls or top wall). The track system 50 may have an interiorportion 50 a that can be positioned traverse to or laterally (e.g.transverse, linear, or direction of travel) relative to the direction ofair flow A. The direction of travel or transverse direction T is shownmore clearly in FIG. 2. The interior portion 50 a, within the sealedinterior side 12 b, is actuated via the exterior portion 50 b outside ofor on the exterior side 12 a of the housing. The interior portion 50 amay be slidingly moved to a variety of positions along the transverse ortravel direction without mechanical contact from the exterior portion 50b thereby maintaining a sealed or unbroken interior side or airpassageway. The scan assembly 20, 30 may reduce or eliminatecontamination into the interior side 12 b of the housing 12 duringoperation and/or testing. The scan assembly 20, 30 may be positionedupstream and/or downstream of the filter areas or filter 40 within theair handling system 10. Although the scan assembly 20, 30 may be shownas interacting with or monitoring the filter 40 (e.g. in a variety ofupstream or downstream directions) in the embodiments, the scan assemblymay be used at variety of other positions within the system for avariety of tasks (e.g. sampling, visual analysis, introduce one or morematerial, decontamination, etc.). The exact pattern and rates of thetransverse movements or travel of one or more of the track systems 50 orscan assemblies 20, 30 may vary and may be controlled by a controller orother devices (not shown).

In the implementation shown, the exterior portion 50 b and interiorportion 50 a of the track system 50 includes a plurality of magnets. Theplurality of magnets of one or more corresponding portions may bearranged in an array 51 a, 51 b to provide the linear translation ofrelative movement between the exterior and interior portions 50 a, 50 b.The exterior portion 50 b drives the interior portion 50 a along thetransverse direction T. In the one embodiment shown more clearly inFIGS. 12 and 13, each magnet 51 may be a rectangular shape andpositioned as plurality of adjacent magnets in a horizontal plane.Moreover, each magnet 51 may have an embodiment of a polarity andorientation relative to another adjacent magnet 51 and/or portion 50 a,50 b. The magnetic orientation of the magnets in the array may optimizethe attract and repel forces to contain and direct the forces ofattraction associated with the north and south pole magnetic couplingfields. This arrangement of permanent magnets that augment the magneticfield on one side of the array while canceling the field to near zero onthe other side, creating an array that has a strong side and a weak sidemay be known as a Halbach array. This may be achieved by having aspatially rotating pattern of magnetization. Moreover, the field may betwice as large on the side on which the flux is confined and there maybe little or no stray field produced on the opposite side. This may alsominimize magnet size and provide field confinement. As shown in FIG. 13,the inside magnet array 51 a includes one embodiment of the magneticarray polarity/direction or magnetic pole orientation of individualmagnets 51. Moreover, the exterior magnet array 51 b includes oneembodiment of the magnetic array polarity/direction or magnetic poleorientation of individual magnets 51. Moreover, as shown in the Figures,each elongated magnet 51 of the corresponding array 51 a, 51 b may beorientated perpendicular or transverse to the transverse direction T oftravel. In the one embodiment shown, the interior magnetic array 51 aand the exterior magnetic array 51 b may be a N45SH magnet material witha magnetic coating Ni—Cu—Ni. Each array 51 a, 51 b may be mounted to abacking plate 51 c made of a SS304 material. In various embodiments, themounting bolt pattern of the backing plates 51 c may be different suchthat the particular magnetic arrays are keyed to either the interiorportion or exterior portion. In some embodiments, the arrays 51 a, 51 bmay be bonded to their corresponding backing plate 51 c using a 3MDP-420 or equivalent. Instead of or in combination with the adhesive,one or more mechanical retaining devices or fasteners (e.g. coversand/or screws) may be used to attach the one or more magnet arrays (e.g.51 a and/or 51 b) to the backing plate 51 c, respectively. These one ormore retaining devices may be made of a metal, plastic, and/or other lowmagnetic material in some embodiments. As shown more clearly in FIG. 4,the exterior magnetic array 51 b may be offset or spaced from theinterior magnetic array 51 a to create a gap or spacing G to operablycontrol the magnetic forces/flux or relative reactions or transferbetween the interior portion 50 a and the exterior portion 50 b. In theone embodiment shown, the gap G may be about 0.2 inches. The gap G ofthe non-magnetic portion of the magnetic circuit separates the inwardlyfacing surfaces of the arrays 51 a, 51 b. Although the gap G betweenmagnetic arrays may be air and the housing 12 as shown, additionalnonmagnetic materials may be used therebetween. By using the air withinthe gap, in some embodiments, friction may be reduced. The gap or gaprange may also provide space for a shim(s) on the exterior/interiorportions for fine tuning of the magnet gap or range of the gap ifnecessary. The magnet arrays or configuration may be a variety ofmaterials, quantities, positions, shapes, sizes, and constructions andstill be within the scope of the invention. For example, one or moreprogrammable magnets may be used.

In some implementations, the one or more retaining devices may be acover or plate 51 d, 151 d to attach the one or more magnetic arrays(e.g. 51 a and/or 51 b) to the backing plate 51 c, respectively. Asshown in the one embodiment in FIGS. 20A-20C and another embodiment inFIGS. 21A-21C, the retaining device may be a cover 51 d, 151 d disposedover one or more of the magnetic arrays 51 a, 51 b or portions thereof.As is shown, both magnetic arrays 51 a, 51 b may include the cover 51 d,151 d, respectively. Alternatively, in some embodiments, one magneticarray may include the cover and the other magnetic array may not includea cover. The one or more covers 51 d, 151 d, if used, may include acompartment 51 da, 151 da to receive and position the magnetic arraywith the backing plate 51 c. The cover 51 d, 151 d may also include apair of flanges 51 db, 151 db with one or more apertures to receive oneor more fasteners to engage the backing plate 51 c. One or morefasteners and/or adhesive may attach the cover (e.g. through the flangeapertures) to the backing plate (e.g. backing plate apertures). In theone embodiment shown in FIGS. 21A-21C, at least one cover 151 d mayinclude one or more recesses (e.g. hex shaped) adjacent the apertureswithin the flanges 151 db to receive one or more nuts 151 dc (e.g. hexshaped) to attach the cover 151 d to the backing plate 51 c via one ormore fasteners (e.g. bolts). Moreover, the cover 51 d, 151 d may be avariety of materials, shapes, sizes, and constructions and still bewithin the scope of the invention, if used. For example, the cover 51 dshown in FIGS. 20A-20C may be made of metal (e.g. low magneticmaterial). In other embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 21A-21C, the cover151 d may be made of plastic.

An exemplary measurement test was conducted for one embodiment of themagnetic configuration, illustrating a basic strength relationship ofthe magnets. The conditions included: the gap 1 between the exteriormagnetic array 2 and the interior magnetic array 3 to be 0.2 inches, anoffset 4 in the transverse direction between the arrays being 0.1 inchesfor the finite element analysis (FEA), individual block 5 size being 2inch (ref 8)×0.2 inch (ref 7)×0.2 inch (ref. 7) (M), magnet materialsEEC-N45H or EEC SmCo-33 magnet, total magnet weight for all 10 magnetswithout housing is about 0.22 lbs for N45H and 0.25 lbs for SmCo-33, thelinear motion direction 6 the driver or exterior array 2 mounted on alinear motor and the driven or interior magnetic array 3 supporting asensor structure. The exemplary configuration is shown in FIG. 17 andthe calculations are shown below in the chart for the driver magneticarray 2 on the top outside and the driven magnetic array 3 on the bottominside of the ventilation tube.

Exterior Interior Magnetic Force Magnetic Force Design Magnet Magnetalong the Y axis along the Z-axis Option Array Array (lbs) (lbs) 1 N45HN45H 22 25 2 SmCo-33 SmCo-33 16 18 3 N45H SmCo-33 19 21The analysis provided the force may be varied depending on the offset 4of 0.1 inch as shown in FIG. 17. The linear coupling force was found tobe proportional to the magnet strength. Operating temperatures of about50 degrees Celsius of less reduced demagnetization. The 0.2 inch gapused in the study may allow for the housing material thickness of about0.08 inches leaving approximately 0.12 inches for manufacturingtolerances or the possibility of a thicker housing wall. While a thinnerair gap increases the magnetic coupling strength, it also increases theload on the linear bearings which then increases the drag of theinterior portion and exterior portion.

One implementation of the exterior portion 50 b of the track system 50may be mounted above the upper/top wall of the housing 12 in theexterior 12 a. As such the interior portion 50 a of the track system 50may be mounted within the interior 12 b of the housing 12 adjacent theupper/top wall in the transverse direction T of travel. In use, theexterior portion 50 b may be installed, replaced, subsequently added tothe air handling system 10 as an add-on or upgrade, or repaired withoutentering the sealed air passageway 11, housing wall 12, and/or interior12 b of the housing. The exterior portion 50 b may also be transferredbetween a first lower portion at one location and second lower portionlocated at another location (e.g. locations on one or more air handlingsystems) to operate the corresponding location or scan assembly in someembodiments. As shown in the Figures, the exterior portion 50 b may bemounted to the sidewalls and extend across the upper wall of the housingin the transverse direction T. Although the exterior portion 50 b may bemounted at a single end at the housing 12 as shown in the Figures,adjacent the actuator 52, the opposing ends may be mounted between theuprights of the sidewalls or at a variety of locations with the housing.Although not shown, in some embodiments, the exterior portion may besecured to a portion of the upper wall. It should be understood that theinterior and exterior portions 50 a and 50 b may be independentlymounted or secured to the housing. For example in use, removing theexterior portion of the track system does not require the interiorportion be removed or accessed. Alternatively stated, separation of themagnetic arrays or breaking the magnetic circuit does not allow theinterior portion to fall away or separate from the housing.

In use, the interior portion 50 a may be installed, replaced,subsequently added to the air handling system as an add-on or upgrade,or repaired. In addition, the housing 12 may be decontaminated whilemanipulating the interior portion. In various embodiments, the mountingbolts, mount, or fasteners may be preinstalled within the interior 12 bof the housing 12. As such, the interior portion 50 a may be installedor the air handling system upgraded with reduced field fabrication (e.g.reduced or no drilling, welding, burning, etc.)

One or more scan assemblies 20, 30 may be used in the air handlingsystem 10. In the one embodiment shown, two scan assemblies 20, 30 maybe positioned adjacent the air filter on the housing. In someembodiments, a single scan assembly may be used. A first scan assembly20 may be positioned downstream of the filter area or air filter 40 anda second scan assembly 30 may be positioned upstream from the filterarea or air filter 40. For convenience, one embodiment of the firsttrack system 50 of the first scan assembly 20 will be discussed in moredetail. The first track system 50 may be positioned downstream of thefilter area or air filter 40 on the housing 12 to translate a portion ofthe interior portion 50 a in the transverse direction T across thedownstream face 44 of the air filter 40 or filter area.

In the embodiment shown in the Figures, the exterior portion 50 b of thetrack system 50 may be mounted to the exterior of the housing 12 in avariety of locations. The exterior portion 50 b drives the interiorportion 50 a within the sealed air passageway 11 via the interior andexterior magnetic array 51 a, 51 b. In some embodiments, the exteriorportion 50 b may include a rail, slide, or channel 53 b slidinglyengaging the exterior magnetic array 51 b outside the housing 12.Moreover, a magnetic drive member or carriage 54 b may mount theexterior magnetic array 51 b with the channel 53 b. The drive member 54b may be a self-lubricated plastic in some embodiments (e.g. PEEK orTRIBO). The channel 53 b may be extruded stainless steel or aluminum.The actuator 52 may translate or slide the drive member/exteriormagnetic array relative to the channel. The actuator 52 advances themoveable portion of the interior portion 50 a along the length orportion thereof of the track system 50. The actuator 52 may be a servomotor in some embodiments as shown, however the actuator may bepneumatic, belt driving, cable driving, portable drill, stepper motors,and/or hydraulic, etc. Although the embodiment shown of the track system540 is motor driven or automatically driven, it should be understoodthat the drive member may be manually operated (e.g. push-pull device,crank assembly, etc.) in some embodiments. Further, in variousembodiments, two or more scan assemblies may be operated by a singleactuator and/or connected via a gear or linkage mechanism. The exteriorportion 50 b may include a lead screw 53 threadably engaging threads(e.g. internal) of the drive member 54 b in some embodiments. The leadscrew 53 may be coupled to the actuator 52 with a splined coupling 52 b.The drive member 54 b may be internally threaded to engage the leadscrew as shown in the Figures. An actuator face plate 52 c, actuatormotor connector 52 d, and/or motor quick disconnect 52 e may be mountedon the housing to position the exterior portion as shown more clearly inFIG. 16. This motor engagement may provide for a quick disconnect of theactuator or motor.

In some implementations, the drive member 54 b of the exterior portion50 b may include structure to position or mount the exterior magneticarray 51 b. For example, a top plate 54 c and a bottom plate or spacer54 d may be positioned on corresponding upper and lower sides of thedrive member 54 b. The exterior magnet array 51 b and/or backing plate51 c may be mounted below the bottom plate 54 d. The top plate 54 c maybe plastic in some embodiments. The bottom plate 54 d may be plastic,stainless steel, and/or aluminum in various embodiments. The drivemember 54 b of the exterior portion 50 b may position the exteriormagnet array 51 b from the housing 12 (e.g. 14 gage stainless steel)and/or interior magnetic array 51 a (e.g. gap G).

In some implementations, the interior portion 50 a may include one ormore interior rails, tracks, or channels 53 a slidingly engaging theinterior magnet array 51 a. One or more rails or tracks 53 a may besecured to the interior of the upper wall of the housing 12. As shown inthe embodiment, a pair of linear rails 53 a may be used. The rails 53 amay include elongated rods 53 ac. The rails 53 a may be stainless steelor anodized aluminum. In some embodiments, the interior portion 50 a mayinclude a carriage block 54 a positioning the interior magnetic array 51a and/or backing plate 51 c relative to the housing 12, exterior portion50 b, and/or exterior magnetic array 51 b (e.g. gap G) along the rails53 a. The carriage block 54 a may be aluminum in some embodiments. Insome embodiments, one or more bearing blocks 55 a and/or one or morelinear bearings 55 ac may be used to slidingly engage the rails 53 aand/or rods 53 ac to the carriage block 54 a. The bearing blocks 55 amay be anodized aluminum with replaceable linear bearings 55 ac (e.g.self-lubricated plastic or TRIBO plastic liners). The bearing blocks 55a may slidingly engage the rails and/or elongated rods along the lineardirection for a desired length.

A variety of devices or structure used to sample, test, introducematerial into the air handling system and/or towards the filter may beattached to the interior portion 50 a or one or more carriage blocks 54a traveling or sliding along the linear rails 53 a within the airpassageway 11. The structure may depend downwardly from the carriageblock 54 a. In some embodiments, the depending structure may include oneor more depending arms. In some implementations as shown, the first scanassembly 20 may include one or more depending arms 60 shown in a fixedor vertical orientation relative to the carriage 54 a. Although otherorientations and/or movement relative to the carriage should beunderstood to be within the scope of the invention. The arms 60 mayinclude one or more scan probes 70 to sample the air downstream of thefilter area/filter 40 or from the filter (e.g. sampling). The one ormore scan probes 70 may receive challenge material to calculate leaksand/or location of the leaks across the downstream face 44 of the filterarea/filter 40. A tube fitting 61 adjacent the downstream outlet 72 ofthe scan probes 70 may include one or more tubes (not shown) forreading/testing samples to transfer to a variety of test equipment. Insome embodiments, the arms and/or probes may be of a unitary or singlepiece construction (e.g. single molded piece). The arms and devices(e.g. scan probes) may be a variety of materials, quantities, positions,shapes, sizes, and constructions and still be within the scope of theinvention.

Although the interior portion in the one embodiment is shown having onedepending arm, it should be understood that the interior portion 50 amay include a plurality of depending arms 60. Each arm of the interiorportion may carry the same or different devices relative to another arm(e.g. one arm with scan probes and another arm with injectors/dispersionprobes). Moreover, each arm may have a variety of devices (e.g. arm withboth scan probes and sensors). For example, in various embodiments, theinterior portion may have two depending arms each for scanning particles(e.g. the arms may be attached to the same magnet array/carriage blockor different magnet arrays/carriage block). In some embodiments, theinterior portion or carriage with two depending arms, one arm withscanning probes and the other arm with aerosol injectors. It should beunderstood that the arms depending from the interior portion or carriageblock may be in a variety of positions or ordinations relative to eachother and may travel along the one or more tracks in a variety ofpositions relative to each other (e.g. same or different rates orpositions along the rail(s)).

For example, in one embodiment of an air handling system may include twoHEPA filters in series, each filter may be scan tested. The system mayhave a first interior and exterior portion upstream of the upstream orfirst HEPA filter to inject aerosol downstream, a second interior andexterior portion downstream of the first HEPA filter and upstream of thedownstream or second HEPA filter to scan test the first HEPA filter, athird interior and exterior portion downstream between the first HEPAfilter and the second HEPA filter to inject test aerosol into the secondHEPA filter, and a fourth interior and exterior portion downstream ofthe second HEPA filter to scan test the second HEPA filter.Alternatively, a single interior and exterior portion/carriage block mayinclude a depending arm(s) with scan probes to scan test the first HEPAfilter and aerosol injection nozzles to inject test aerosol into thedownstream second HEPA filter.

In one implementation as shown more clearly in FIGS. 5 and 16, aplurality of scan probes 70 may be in an overlapping arrangement alongthe length of the one or more depending arms 60. Adjacent probes overlapfor a distance or length D in the vertical direction.

In the one embodiment shown, the depending arm 60 may include anelongated spine 62 mounted to the carriage block 54 a and/or interiormagnetic array 51 a sliding in the transverse direction T along therails 53 a. The spine 62 may increase the strength of the depending armand provide consistent alignment of the devices (e.g. probes, injectors,camera, sensors such as but is not limited to biological, temperature,velocity, etc., injector nozzles, etc.) attached thereto to scan orslide in the transverse direction T. The spine 62 may include one ormore spine stiffeners 64. As shown more clearly in FIGS. 6 and 14, oneimplementation of the spine stiffener 64 is adjacent the downstream edgeand extends along a portion of the length of the spine. The spine 62 maybe made from a stainless steel in some embodiments.

The spine 62 may be a common wall for the one or more scan probes 70.The plurality of scan probes 70 may share the elongated spine wall. Thespine 62 may define one or more walls, portions, or the inner periphery71 of the one or more scan probes 70. In the one embodiment shown,adjacent scan probes 70 of the plurality of overlapping scan probes arepositioned on opposing sides of the spine 62. The internal airpassageway of the scan probe 70 may be defined by the inner periphery 71of the scan probe 70 and/or spine 62 from the upstream inlet 74 towardsthe downstream outlet 72. The spine 62 may define a portion of theupstream inlet 74 and/or downstream outlet 72. For example, as shown inthe one embodiment, the spine defines the upstream inlet and not thedownstream outlet. As more clearly shown in FIGS. 7-11, a portion of thescan probe 70 may define three sides of the internal air passageway orinner periphery 71 with the top wall 75 and bottom wall 76 taperingtowards the downstream outlet 72. The lateral side 77 of the three sidedmember may taper towards the inlet 74 and may be unparallel to theplanar lateral face of the spine 62. This three sided member may becoupled to the planar lateral face of the elongated spine to form theinner periphery 71 of each adjacent scan probe 70.

In some implementations, the scan probes 70 may be constructed toincrease accuracy or sample at an air flow velocity within the scanprobe more closely to the duct velocity. One or more protrusions ordampers 78 within the internal air passageway or inner periphery of theprobe 70 may equalize the velocity at the downstream outlet 72 of thescan probe 70 or fitting 61 to equalize the pressure entering the scanprobe. The one or more protrusions 78 may define one or more channels 79extending from the upstream inlet 74 towards the downstream outlet. Thescan probes and spine, if used, to define the inner periphery mayinclude the channels 79 and/or protrusions 78. The one or more channels79 may decrease in size towards the downstream outlet 72. The channels79 may be vertically positioned or stacked above adjacent channelswithin a vertical plane or the scan probe. The protrusions 78 may extendaway from the inner periphery of the probe or lateral sides 77 thereofand project inwardly into the internal air passageway defined by theinner periphery 71. The one or more protrusions may extend from one ormore sides of the inner periphery 71 of the scan probe 70 and/or spine62.

In the one embodiment shown, the one or more protrusion may be one ormore elongated fins or weir (e.g. continuous or intermittent) extendingin the direction of air flow. The fin may extend from the upstream inlet74 towards the downstream outlet 72 for a distance. In some embodiments,a distal end 78 a of the fin may be spaced from the downstream outlet72. The fin may be orientated transverse to the horizontal plane. In theone embodiment shown, a pair of elongated fins 78 taper towards eachother in the direction of air flow towards the downstream outlet 72thereby narrowing the channel 79 therebetween and the correspondingchannels 79 between adjacent tapering top and bottom walls 75, 76 of thescan probe defining the inner periphery. The elongated ribs may extendacross and between one or more lateral sides 77 of the scan probe. Thelateral sides 77 of the probe between the top and bottom walls 75, 76may expand from each other in the direction of air flow andcorrespondingly the elongated fins 78 may increase in width between thelateral sides 77 of the scan probe. If the spine is used, the elongatedfin 78 may extend from the lateral side 77 of the three sided member tothe substantially planar lateral surface of the elongated spine 62. Theone or more protrusions 78 may extend inwardly from the spine and/orremaining portion of the scan probe. It should be understood thechannels and protrusions shown in one embodiment in the Figures may be avariety of quantities, shapes, sizes, materials, orientations, andconstruction and still be within the scope of the invention.

As shown in the one implementation of the second scan assembly 30positioned upstream of the filter area or filter 40, a variety ofdevices or structure may be attached to the interior portion or one ormore carriage blocks traveling along the linear rails within the airpassageway. The interior portion 50 a of the track system 50 includesone or more injectors 90. The depending arm 60 or spine 62, if used, mayinclude one or more injectors 90 extending along the spine (e.g.overlapping adjacent injectors by a length or distance D). The one ormore injectors may slide between one or more lateral positions acrossthe upstream face 42 of the filter in the transverse direction T. Theinjector(s) 90 may introduce aerosol, decontamination, or other materialwith increased accuracy and volume control to minimize the loaded of thefilter when testing or introducing one or more materials towards thefilter from the upstream position. For example, in some implementationsthe reduction of the amount of test aerosol used may benefit ePTFEfilter applications. The test aerosol injected downstream from the scanassembly 30 or injectors 90 (e.g. aerosol injection nozzles) may createa uniform test aerosol profile discharged at the inlet to the filter.Typical systems utilized increased distance and turbulence generatingstructure (e.g. one or more baffles) to create uniformity at the filter,the scan assembly and/or injectors 90 may reduce the distance in frontof the filter which may correspondingly allow a reduction in size (e.g.length) of the system 10.

It should be understood that the devices attached to the interiorportion or depending arm(s) may be a variety of constructions,quantities, shapes, sizes, and positions within the housing and still bewithin the scope of the invention. For example, one or more visualdevices or cameras (e.g. IR, thermal, etc.) may be attached to theinterior portion 50 a of one or more track systems 50. In variousembodiments, one or more nozzles may be used. In addition in someembodiments, one or more sensors may be used for temperature, velocity,biological, etc. analysis. Moreover, for example, biological,decontamination, patching/repair (e.g. liquid), and/or fluorescentmaterials or the like may be introduced upstream and/or downstream ofthe filter (e.g. onto the surface of the filter) or at other locationswithin the air handling system. A thermal response, color spectrums,illumination of materials, and sterilization within the air handlingsystem or filter may be desired to be controlled by the scan assembly.

A control system may be used to position the track system of one or morescan assemblies. The control system may control the rate of travel, oneor more positions, direction of travel, monitoring, and/or introducingof materials of one or more scan assemblies. For example, the rate oftravel and position of the first scan assembly and/or scan probes may becoordinated with the rate of travel and position of the first assemblyintroducing aerosol via the injectors. In some embodiments, the rate oftravel of two or more scan assemblies may be different or the same.

In some implementations, as shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, the air handlingsystem 10 may include one or more probe assemblies 80 for validationand/or measurement of upstream aerosol challenge characteristics. Theprobe assembly 80 may be in a fixed position and laterally outside theouter periphery of the front face 42 of the filter 40. This fixedlocation may be a non-obtrusive location within the air passageway. Aplurality of scan probes may be fixed in place to receive aerosolupstream of the one or more filters being tested and in alignment withthe individual aerosol injection nozzles in their position (e.g.stationary parked). In the one embodiment shown, the probe assembly 80may be a depending arm 60 with one or more scan probes 70. The probeassembly 80 may be directly coupled to the particle counter. The scanassembly 30 may be positioned (e.g. home position) in fluidcommunication with the downstream probe assembly 80. For example, one ormore injectors 90 may be in fluid communication with one or more scanprobes 70. The probe assembly 80 may be used for measurement andvalidation of the upstream aerosol challenging conditions emitted fromthe scan assembly 30. The probe assembly and validation/measurement mayallow for particle counts that are more accurate and repeatable for aparticular design condition of the application. The validation may becompleted without entering or contaminating the sealed air passageway11. It should be understood that other materials or characteristics ofair flow or conditions within the housing (e.g. decontamination agents,thermal, velocity, etc.) may be validated or measured with the probeassembly. The probe assembly and probes/sensors may be a variety ofmaterials, quantities, positions, shapes, sizes, and constructions andstill be within the scope of the invention.

Conducting the upstream count verification of the probe assembly mayinvolve connecting one of the stationary corresponding receptor probesto the particle counter and initiating the flow of test aerosol throughthe corresponding aerosol injection nozzle for an appropriate period oftime and/or cycles. Once completed, the system may be manually orautomatically cycled to the next corresponding set of receptor probesand aerosol injecting nozzles and the calculation repeated. Once all theprobe/nozzle assemblies have been tested, the average of thestatistically valid values is determined and set as the Cu or upstreamcount.

While several inventive embodiments have been described and illustratedherein, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily envision avariety of other means and/or structures for performing the functionand/or obtaining the results and/or one or more of the advantagesdescribed herein, and each of such variations and/or modifications isdeemed to be within the scope of the inventive embodiments describedherein. More generally, those skilled in the art will readily appreciatethat all parameters, dimensions, materials, and configurations describedherein are meant to be exemplary and that the actual parameters,dimensions, materials, and/or configurations will depend upon thespecific application or applications for which the inventive teachingsis/are used. Those skilled in the art will recognize, or be able toascertain using no more than routine experimentation, many equivalentsto the specific inventive embodiments described herein. It is,therefore, to be understood that the foregoing embodiments are presentedby way of example only and that, within the scope of the appended claimsand equivalents thereto, inventive embodiments may be practicedotherwise than as specifically described and claimed. Inventiveembodiments of the present disclosure are directed to each individualfeature, system, article, material, kit, and/or method described herein.In addition, any combination of two or more such features, systems,articles, materials, kits, and/or methods, if such features, systems,articles, materials, kits, and/or methods are not mutually inconsistent,is included within the inventive scope of the present disclosure.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for introducing features to ormonitoring characteristics of an air filter within an air handlingsystem, comprising: a housing having an exterior side and an interiorside, wherein the interior side defining an air passageway adapted toform a part of the air handling system having an air flow passingtherethrough; one or more filter areas positioned within the interiorside of the housing adapted to receive a replaceable filter media with adownstream face and an opposing upstream face; a first scan assemblypositioned at least one of upstream and downstream of the one or morefilter areas, wherein the first scan assembly having a track systemdirecting one or more depending arms within the air passageway in atransverse direction to the air flow; the track system having anexterior portion positioned on the exterior side of the housing and aninterior portion positioned on the interior side of the housing; theinterior portion includes a carriage, an interior magnetic array, andthe one or more depending arms slidingly engaging one or more firstrails; the exterior portion includes a drive member and an exteriormagnetic array slidingly engaging one or more second rails, and anactuator, wherein the actuator slides the drive member and the exteriormagnetic array on the one or more second rails along the exterior sideof the housing and correspondingly slides the carriage, the interiormagnetic array, and one or more depending arms on the one or more firstrails in the transverse direction along the interior side of thehousing.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 includes the first scan assemblypositioned downstream of the one or more filter areas.
 3. The apparatusof claim 1 further comprising a second scan assembly positioned on theother of the at least one of upstream and downstream position of thefirst scan assembly.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the first scanassembly has a first rate of travel for the drive member along thetransverse direction and the second scan assembly has a second rate oftravel for the drive member along the transverse direction.
 5. Theapparatus of claim 4 wherein the first rate of travel and the secondrate of travel is the same or different from each other.
 6. Theapparatus of claim 1 wherein the one or more first rails comprises apair of linear rails parallel spaced from each other and in slidingengagement with the carriage.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein theinterior portion of the track system further comprises one or morelinear bearings between the pair of linear rails and the carriage. 8.The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the exterior portion of the tracksystem further comprises a lead screw driven by the actuator, the leadscrew slides the drive member along the one or more second rails.
 9. Theapparatus of claim 1 wherein the drive member threadably engages thelead screw.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the interior magneticarray and the exterior magnetic array are spaced from each other by thetrack system to provide a gap therebetween.
 11. The apparatus of claim10 wherein each one of the interior magnetic array and the exteriormagnetic array includes a plurality of elongated magnets arrangedperpendicular to the transverse direction relative to the air flow. 12.The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the actuator is a servo motor.
 13. Theapparatus of claim 1 wherein the one or more depending arms of theinterior portion of the track system further comprises one or moredevices.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the one or more devicesare at least one of a scan probe, a camera, a nozzle, a sensor, and aninjector.
 15. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the one or more dependingarms comprises a spine defining a portion of one or more overlappingscan probes extending along a length of the spine.
 16. The apparatus ofclaim 1 further comprising a fixed probe assembly in fluid communicationwith one or more injectors to validate test aerosol from the first scanassembly positioned upstream of the one or more filter areas.
 17. Anapparatus for introducing features to or monitoring characteristics ofan air filter within an air handling system, comprising: a housinghaving an exterior side and an interior side, wherein the interior sidedefining an air passageway adapted to form a part of the air handlingsystem having an air flow passing therethrough; one or more filter areaspositioned within the interior side of the housing adapted to receive areplaceable filter media with a downstream face and an opposing upstreamface; a first scan assembly positioned upstream of the one or morefilter areas, wherein the first scan assembly includes a track systemdirecting one or more depending arms within the air passageway in atransverse direction to the air flow; the track system having anexterior portion positioned on the exterior side of the housing and aninterior portion positioned on the interior side of the housing; theinterior portion includes a carriage, an interior magnetic array, andthe one or more depending arms slidingly engaging one or more firstrails; the exterior portion includes a drive member and an exteriormagnetic array slidingly engaging one or more second rails, and anactuator, wherein the actuator slides the drive member and the exteriormagnetic array on the one or more second rails along the exterior sideof the housing and correspondingly slides the carriage, the interiormagnetic array, and one or more depending arms on the one or more firstrails in the transverse direction along the interior side of thehousing; the one or more depending arms of the interior portion of thetrack system further comprises one or more injectors directing at leastone of a decontamination agent and an aerosol downstream towards the oneor more filter areas.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein at least oneof the interior portion and the exterior portion includes a coverattaching the interior magnetic array and the exterior magnetic array toa backing plate, respectively.